US 11th Armored Division

The 11th Armored Division was an armored division of the US Army that was active from 15 August 1942 to 31 August 1945 during World War II. The division was activated at Camp Polk, Louisiana, and it arrived in England on 11 October 1944. It arrived in France on 16 December 1944, and it was instantly sent to hold back the German offensive at the Battle of the Bulge. On 7 February 1945, the 11th Armored pierced the Siegfried Line at Luetzkampen, Grosskampenberg on 17 February, and the key point of Roscheid on 20 February. The division then crossed the Prum and Kyll Rivers, taking Gerolstein and Nieder Bettingen against violent opposition. On 9 March, the division took Andernach and Brohl, and it took the Worms Airport on 21 March. The 11th Armored crossed the Rhine at Oppenheim and took Hanau and Fulda, reaching Oberhof in the Thuringian Forest on 3 April 1945. The division then raced through Bavaria to take Coburg on 10 April, Bayreuth on the 14th, Grafenau and Freyung on 24 April, and Rohrbach, Neufelden, and Zwettl after plunging toward the Danube River. The division faced fanatical resistance on the approaches to Linz, Austria, and the division took Linz on 5 May 1945. On that same day, the division liberated the Mauthausen concentration camp. On 8 May 1945, it became the first unit of the US Third Army to meet the Soviets. The division served on occupation duty until 31 August 1945, when it was inactivated.